Let Your Love Grow Tall
by rioazul
Summary: Following the events of "Propeller Seeds," Kaidan and Shepard race to save the life of the krogan ambassador and put out fires sparked by the Reaper War.
1. Chapter 1

_Follows the events of "Propeller Seeds," my first story. Feedback is how I LIVE, so feel free. Thanks for your support, and reading it. Yes, the title comes from Passion Pit's song._

* * *

Kaidan's mother smoothed down his dress blue uniform for possibly the fifth time. She sighed in exasperation. Beverly Alenko had aged very little since the last time Kaidan saw her, a couple weeks before the Reaper invasion, but the war had taken it's toll on her, despite her relatively uninvolved role. There were nervous ticks that hadn't quite gone away yet, and shadows crossed her eyes when she was left alone for too long with her thoughts.

"I can't get this damn collar to stay up straight," she fussed.

"I'm sure it looks fine, mom," he said, gently taking her hands.

"Kaidan Victor Alenko, you are an important person, one of the saviors of the galaxy, and you are marrying the first human Spectre in half an hour. You can't just look fine for the cameras."

Kaidan rolled his eyes, a rather juvenile response to the irritating concessions they'd been forced to make in deference to both of their roles in galactic events.

"Well, if my mother can't get my collar to stand up straight, I'm just going to have to tell them whose fault that is, and won't your face be red?"

She pursed her lips at his needling, fussed with it one more time, then announced that it would have to do. She patted his cheek tearfully, then turned to leave the room. As she opened the door, she squeaked, and there was the low thud of something hitting a wall gently.

"You can't see him for thirty minutes! It's bad luck!"

"I've died twice, Mrs Alenko. Really, how much worse could my luck get?"

"I don't know, but I'm not willing to test it, are you?"

"You've got to stop saying that," Kaidan called through the door. "You didn't actually die the second time."

"You weren't there, how do you know?"

With that, she slammed the door. Kaidan checked behind her to see if Shepard had snuck in, but he was in there alone, dress blues wrinkle-free and freshly cleaned. He looked at himself in the mirror, somewhat surprised by his own reflection. He'd come to terms with the gray at his temples, Shepard liked it, so Kaidan hadn't found the energy to dye it or do anything with it. The dress blues, while not a common sight, were still familiar enough. What he found surprising was that his hair was straightened again. After the months of Atlanta humidity, Kaidan had grown to like his curls, something he hadn't been able to do as a child or teenager. The curls were another thing Shepard liked. Perhaps, he mused, that was the true miracle of love. You began to accept the things you hated about yourself, because your partner found them to be some of the most interesting things about you. You started to see yourself through someone else's eyes, and just maybe begin to see what they like.

He shook his head, clearing the sap from his thoughts, and moved to the door. It was time, now, to make formal the little promises he and Nathan had made every day since that lunch at Apollo's Café on the Presidium. The thought brought a small smile to Kaidan's lips. He'd often mused about how small and ineffectual language was at conveying concepts like love, and Shepard had told him he thought too much. Which was probably true.

Kaidan often thought too much, and he by trying to plan things, get them just right, say things at the right moment, he was never as good with romantic gestures as Shepard was with his spontaneous slow dances, or things like having blue roses in the kitchen when Kaidan came back from a meeting or the grocery store, simply because he knew they were Kaidan's favorite.

#

The music started, and Kaidan and Shepard walked toward the center of the room from different sides. Their friends, family, and distinguished guests were there, seated in concentric circles around a raised dais, upon which Admiral Hackett stood. One aisle bisected the room, for each groom's approach. Kaidan caught sight of Shepard for the first time today, and his chest tightened. Even now, after a year together, exploring each other body and soul, the man still had that effect on him. Kaidan believed he always would.

As they each closed in on the dais, Shepard winked at Kaidan, and as they stood in the center of the dais, before Hackett could speak, Shepard raised his hands, asking for the attention they were already getting.

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends, family, and 'other', I'd like to ask your indulgence for a moment."

Kaidan supposed he should have expected something, so he merely quirked an eyebrow at Shepard in askance.

"You see, when I proposed to Spectre Major Kaidan Victor Alenko, I was about to be put in a coma, and so I didn't have time to give him a decent proposal. Something which my mother has never let me forget," he said as he bowed cheekily in her direction. "I'd like to take a moment to correct that."

Kaidan gasped, somewhat embarrassed, somewhat choked up. "I already said yes!"

The assembled guests laughed, but Shepard was not to be deterred.

"Kaidan Alenko, for over four years, you have served by my side. You have been my friend, brother-in-arms, confidante, and lover. You are my compass and conscience. Every day, I have watched the love in your eyes grow, and I hope that you have seen the same in my eyes. As time goes on, I can't remember a life without you, and I can't dream of a future without you at my side." He kneeled, to Kaidan's surprise. "I want to start a family with you, and grow old together, and maybe save the galaxy a time or two more. Will you _please_ marry me? Today, if possible?"

Kaidan chuckled, but found he could't talk. His throat closed with emotion, he was forced to nod his head and whisper a shaky "yes." Shepard looked up at Kaidan and gave him His Smile, then took his hand and stood, facing the admiral, who cleared his throat and dashed surreptitiously at his eyes. Kaidan heard a few sniffles from the guests.

It was a fairly straightforward ceremony, and they pledged their lives to each other and spoke words that bound them to each other in all the ways they weren't already. A huge roar erupted from the crowd as they gave their first kiss as a married couple, and, taking each other's hand, they walked down the aisle and out to the courtyard to their reception.

Everyone invited was there. Kaidan spent time with everyone, hopping around from cluster of people to cluster of people, and finally met "Felicia Hannigan," who told him she'd once been Shepard's yeoman, back when the _Normandy_ had been a Cerberus vessel, and Kaidan realized she'd been Kelly Chambers back then. She explained that she'd been working on the Citadel prior to the Cerberus coup and Shepard had told her to change her identity. She'd thought it might be foolish to come to Shepard's wedding, in case someone was looking for her, but the counselor in her had wanted to meet Kaidan.

"Besides," she said teasingly. "Everyone on the _Normandy_ thought that Shepard and I had a thing going, I wanted to meet the guy that snagged him!"

"And _did_ you have a thing going," Kaidan asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Nope. He invited me up, we had dinner, and talked about you." She toasted him with her glass of champagne, then leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Congratulations, Major. Every woman in this room hates you right now!" She pulled back and smiled at him to let him know she was half-teasing.

"You have no idea," he said as he sipped his own champagne, smiling around the glass. At that moment, Shepard appeared at his elbow, nodded in recognition at Felicia/Kelly, and whirled Kaidan onto the dance floor for a nice slow number. Kaidan had it on good authority that Jack had arranged for a guest to keep Shepard occupied during the fast numbers so he wouldn't be embarrassed at his own wedding, but the slow numbers were ok.

Kaidan wrapped his arms around Shepard's neck and swayed with him.

#

After the speeches, some beautiful, some horrible, and some (particularly one by Kahlee Sanders) so full of emotion that even Kaidan was having trouble, they made a graceful, if not entirely discreet (thanks to Garrus) exit. The pawing started in the cab ride back to the hotel. The kissing started, awkwardly, as they walked across the lobby to the elevator. The biting began around the fourth floor.

By the time the elevator doors opened onto the honeymoon suite and they spilled into the foyer, both their dress blues were spread open, revealing the expanses of muscles underneath, Kaidan's belt was undone, and his pants and briefs were just barely covering his ass. Shepard pressed his palm to the security plate as he bit at Kaidan's bottom lip and Kaidan whimpered. He wanted Nathan in him, now, and the desire was painful. He stuck his hand down Shepard's pants and wrapped his fingers around Shepard's cock, eliciting a growl from the other man.

The door slid open and Shepard pulled Kaidan in, dropping to his knees and swallowing Kaidan's entire length before the door slid shut. Kaidan shouted out and carded his fingers through Shepard's hair as the other man moaned around a very full mouth. Shepard reached up and began rolling Kaidan's balls in his palm, causing Kaidan's knees to buckle. Kaidan caught himself on Shepard's shoulders before he fell over.

"Nathan... I want you in me. Please," he begged.

Shepard growled as Kaidan's words made the desire curl in his belly. He stood, and, so fast it seemed like one motion, he had his clothes off, standing before Kaidan hard and naked. He pulled the offending material off Kaidan as well, then slammed Kaidan up against a support wall over by the balcony.

"Yes," Kaidan cried.

"Stay there," Shepard commanded, "do not touch yourself."

Kaidan whimpered.

Shepard padded into the bedroom where their luggage was, his hard penis bouncing around comically as he walked. He procured the lube he'd been looking for and stalked back over to Kaidan, who hadn't been entirely successful at following orders. He was rubbing his tummy and watching Shepard with darkened eyes, his hands starting to go lower as Shepard got closer. Shepard growled again as he ground his erection against Kaidan's thigh, grabbing the back of Kaidan's head and kissing him roughly.

Without warning, Shepard grabbed Kaidan's wrists and spun him around so he was facing the wall, then pinned his hands above his head. Shepard poured some lube directly on his cock, then dropped the tube to spread it around and then spread some on Kaidan's ass. Lining his cock up with Kaidan's entrance, Shepard bit down on that spot between Kaidan's shoulders at the base of his neck as he pushed past the tight ring of muscle. Kaidan cried out from the pain/pleasure combination, throwing his head back to rest it on Shepard's shoulder, not caring about the strain on his outstretched arms.

"Move, Nathan. Please!"

Shepard took half a second to get back in control of himself. Kaidan's muscles, moans, and pleas were formidable opponents to his self-control, and Shepard didn't want this to be over quickly. Kaidan moaned, low and wanton as Shepard took his first stroke. He took his time, using slow, deliberate thrusts that almost had him pulling out, then slowly plunging in until he was completely sheathed in Kaidan. Kaidan pushed back to meet every thrust, rolling his hips with the sensations, electricity shooting through his body as his prostate got rubbed.

"Shepard, my hands... I need..." He couldn't get his words out.

"Not yet. Don't cum yet, baby. I'm not ready for this to be over yet," he said, slamming home to emphasize his point. Kaidan clamped down on Shepard's cock inside him, causing Shepard to yell wordlessly.

Control be damned, Shepard thought to himself as he picked up the pace, dropping Kaidan's hands to place his hands on Kaidan's shoulder and hip for leverage. He saw Kaidan's arm move as he stroked himself furiously, helpless as the pleasure wracked through his body, and the knowledge of what that hand was doing caused Shepard's groin to cramp. Shepard saw Kaidan's muscles begin to quiver, felt him tighten around Shepard's cock as his orgasm tore through him.

"Don't stop," Kaidan said, pushing back onto Shepard, shimmying his hips as he did so.

Shepard didn't last much longer, despite his earlier command. Quick strokes and Kaidan's encouragement sending him over the edge, he clutched at Kaidan as his world spun away from him.


	2. Chapter 2

Both men awoke after an exhausting night. Kaidan looked around the hotel room idly, trying to find a spot they hadn't "christened." They'd taken each other three more times that night. A foolish thing, considering they were shipping out on the _Normandy_ today. Kaidan stretched, feeling the good soreness deep inside, then rolled off the bed and padded into the kitchen to make coffee. Their last real coffee before shipping out was something he was going to savor. Strong, calloused hands gripped his hips as he ground the beans, Shepard leaning in to kiss and nip at his jawline.

"Good morning, Mr Shepard," Nathan said softly.

"Good morning, Mr Alenko," Kaidan replied smiling.

They'd never discussed last names, but it was just as common these days for a spouse to retain their last name as it was to take the other's. Kaidan filed that under "discussions to be had later" and turned in Shepard's arms to face him.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Shepard knew Kaidan would be the one doing the cooking, but he liked to pretend that he had cause to offer. He was rubbish at cooking, and always had been. As a teenager, when he had gotten it in his head that food prep was easy and wanted to feed the family, it had lasted a day before Hannah simply refused to eat any more of the simultaneously burned-and-undercooked meat on her plate.

"Best second-date food ever: rations! We have to eat and run, because we have the inspection and then lift-off."

"Killjoy," Shepard muttered, kissing Kaidan quickly and leaning against the counter.

"You have a tough-as-nails reputation to uphold, and I'm famous for being proper and a stickler for regulations."

"Fine, have your fun. I'll be in the shower while the coffee is brewing."

"You do that."

Kaidan looked over his shoulder to admire the view. Shepard made lots of noise about Kaidan having the best ass in the galaxy, but Kaidan thought Shepard could give him a run for his money. Kaidan set the coffee to brew, inhaled the scent of fresh ground beans deeply, then went to join Shepard in the shower. The commander had his palms flat on the wall, leaning into the spray.

Kaidan leaned into him, running his hands up Shepard's torso to rest on his chest. "Sore?"

"In all the right places."

"I have no idea how I'm going to walk."

"You're the one who kept asking for 'harder.'"

"You certainly delivered," Kaidan replied as he washed Shepard's back.

All got quiet for a minute as they took turns soaping each other up. Finally, Kaidan asked what Shepard was thinking.

"All that we're setting out to do. Tevos and Sparatus had very few clues to offer me. The krogan ambassador left Sur'kesh, and that was the last anyone heard from him. No distress call, nothing."

"Debris?"

"None. Maybe transmissions were jammed, they were boarded, and someone piloted the ship wherever they went?"

"And _no one_ got off a transmission? Fired off a message beacon? Got into an escape pod? Seems too well-executed."

"Inside job?"

They played off each other in this way until they were dry, then Shepard went to the bedroom to dress, Kaidan went to the kitchen for the blessed coffee. He handed Shepard his mug and began to dress himself.

"How are we going to go through all this without EDI?"

"You know, Kaidan, we did do this on the first _Normandy_ without a superpowered AI. Besides, they say the salarians are working on her. Maybe she'll be up and running when we get there."

"Let's call that a remote possibility, Commander."

"Oh! Commander, is it? We're not even back on the ship!"

"Just getting back in character."

"Character?" Shepard's face clouded over. "Kaidan, if there's going to be a problem-"

"Nathan! I'm teasing you. When it comes to the _Normandy_ or the mission, you're in charge. That's when I call you commander. When you're in my bed, or my arms - or anything else of mine," he said with a conspiratorial grin, "you're Nathan."

"Speaking of missions, they issued us a new Mako."

"Don't joke about that," Kaidan warned, his voice far from teasing.

"But we made vows! _Yesterday!"_

"I also vowed to love you in sickness and in health. Forgive me if I think I should get off for time served."

Shepard snorted. "It wasn't that bad..."

"No! No. Remember Eletania? Where we literally fell off a mountain?"

"All we got was a busted tire. The pyjaks were more trouble."

Kaidan glared harshly at him, and Shepard held up his hands in surrender. "I told them no already, we wanted the Hammerhead."

Kaidan threw the ball of clean socks at Shepard's head.

Once they were both in their battle dress uniforms, they packed up their things from the night before and left for the space port.

#

"Commander on deck!"

The formal greeting was issued in a warm British voice belonging to Specialist Samantha Traynor, freshly promoted to Staff Lieutenant, communications division. She was at the head of the reception line on their right, Joker was at the head on the left. As they boarded, Kaidan saw some familiar faces, and nodded to each. Garrus, Tali, Cortez, Dr Chakwas, Felicia, and...

"EDI?"

"Welcome to the _Normandy_, Commander Shepard," she said. Her face smiled, but something seemed... off. Kaidan looked back at Traynor, who smiled sadly.

They worked their way through the rest of the ceremony, Shepard officially taking command, everyone reporting all systems go, and they were off, course set for Sur'Kesh. Shepard and Kaidan went up to their cabin, full of excitement, but their eyes clouded over with worry.

"EDI?"

"_Yes, Commander_," she responded, her voice sounding somewhat... hollow.

"Privacy mode on this cabin until further notice."

"_Acknowledged_."

He turned to Kaidan. "That's how she sounded when she was shackled."

"I thought she couldn't be reshackled. I thought that was part of why Joker was in trouble."

"I'm not saying she's shackled, but something's not right." He moved to the desk comms unit while Kaidan began unpacking their bags into the armor lockers. Someone had the foresight to install another one before they came aboard, possibly not realizing that he and Shepard were pretty much the same size. He called for Traynor and Joker to join them.

A few moments later, both of them entered the cabin. Hugs and handshakes were exchanged, and Kaidan invited them to sit on the couch.

"So, what's the update on EDI," Shepard asked.

Joker's shoulders slumped. "Well, they've got her basic programming up and running. She's just as efficient as she ever was, but her personality isn't... quite back yet."

Kaidan's jaw dropped. "Joker... are you...?"

"No, I'm not ok. But, if some of us have to wait three years for love to finally take, I can be patient."

Kaidan met Shepard's eyes with a tender look, then turned his gaze on Traynor. "Sam, what's being done?"

"I'm not much of a programmer, but I've given my input to the salarians. If I may, Commander," she said, looking at Shepard, "Joker and I feel it might not be right to program her personality. It feels... forced. Shouldn't we let her personality evolve naturally, as it did before?"

"Seems a bit risky to me," Kaidan put in. "There's no guarantee we'd get her back the way she was." He avoided looking at Joker, but he was sure this was the war the pilot was fighting with himself. "Joker?"

"She's calling me Mr Moreau right now. She says she remembers her feelings for me, but that she doesn't feel them, yet."

"Well," Shepard said, slapping his hands on his knees. "We have a salarian programmer on board, his job is to work on her, and hopefully we'll get her back without having to do additional programming."

"We do?" Kaidan couldn't recall the entire crew manifest off the top of his head, but he didn't remember seeing a salarian programmer.

"Remember our first trip to the Citadel?" He shot Kaidan an affectionate look, with just a hint of mischief. It was similar to the one he got when he was about to tickle Kaidan, but worlds different in connotation.

"Yes," Kaidan said, drawing out the word in hopes that he could remember the individual in question before Shepard had to spell it out for him.

"Remember the guy that wanted us to scan the Keepers?"

Kaidan's jaw dropped. "You don't mean Chorban, do you?"

Shepard nodded, folding his arms, the picture of smug.

"He's not a programmer!"

"Oh, he's a programmer, alright. Remember he designed the scanner that we used? And after everything went tits up with his research on the keepers, he turned his attention to more useful programming. He's now regarded as a rogue programmer genius, famous for thinking outside the box. Just what we could use right now, I think."

Joker looked too depressed, but Kaidan saw a dull hope raise in his eyes. With that, Shepard dismissed the two crew members and summoned Garrus and Tali.

#

Kaidan clapped Garrus on the shoulder, asking how Shepard had wrangled them back on another mission.

"Well, there's no Shepard without Vakarian. Didn't you tell him? Or are those just pretty words you use on me," he asked, genuine confusion on his face as he looked back at Shepard, who laughed.

"I hadn't heard that," Kaidan said, smiling ruefully.

"So make room up here in this cabin," Garrus said, pushing past Kaidan, who blinked in surprise.

Tali embraced Kaidan, and they exchanged chatter while Shepard and Garrus discussed their mission.

"Do we have any leads?" Tali was still in her envirosuit, and her filtered voice told Kaidan she wasn't expecting any.

"I'll do a full briefing in the war room in the morning, but the short answer is no." Shepard began to pace a little. "I don't suspect the salarians, it would be ridiculous to incite the krogan right now, with everyone watching the negotiations, but someone knew the Ambassador was leaving. That hints of salarian involvement."

"Or incompetence," Garrus put in.

Shepard turned and frowned. "Not something the salarians are known for, especially anyone that would have access to the ambassador's schedule."

"Maybe it's not that complicated," Kaidan put in.

"Explain," Shepard requested.

"Well, someone doesn't have to have access to the ambassador's schedule to know there's a krogan ship coming in or leaving."

"A dock worker, security guard, maintenance crew, any of them would know about a ship coming in," Tali jumped in, piggybacking off Kaidan's idea. "All they have to do is tell the wrong cousin or friend."

"How does that make it less complicated, Kaidan," Shepard said, a bit annoyed.

"I meant the motive, not the search," Kaidan shot back sheepishly. "It's a good thing we have EDI working again."

"How's Joker," Tali asked, her voice full of concern.

Kaidan's mouth pulled down at the corners, and that seemed to be all the answer Tali needed.

They chatted for a while more, Tali giving them an update on Rannoch, Garrus on Palaven, and then the other couple went on their merry way. They were taking up Liara's old quarters down on the crew deck.

"I'm just going to ask Chorban to come up and give us an EDI update, and then I'm done for the day," Shepard said. Kaidan sat down at the desk and began working on some research.

"All the good people we lost in the war, and that nimrod had to make it," Kaidan muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Chorban all but kissed Shepard's toes. It seemed that he'd used his Spectre status to get Chorban out of some hot water with a batarian group who were closing in. Shepard calmed him down and sat him on the couch. The programmer had set up shop down in the AI core, behind the Med Bay. He'd been one of the first specialists on board, and had been working diligently on the problem as soon as he could get his fingers on the circuit boards.

"I don't really know how much more I can do, Shepard. It's like asking me to help someone with amnesia. When you destroyed the Reapers, it wiped out all the synthetic life in the galaxy. Geth, VIs, AIs. It was like magic. There was no physical or programming cause, they just simply shorted out, fatal flaws. What the team did to get EDI where it is, it's... " He trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

"Well, keep at it, Chorban. I'd hate to have to tell batarian pirates where you are..."

"Well, that's an empty threat if ever I heard one. They'd never have the guts to board the _Normandy_, and you'd never invite them."

Shepard merely quirked an eyebrow. Kaidan rubbed his mouth with his hand and got back to reading about Chinnan, the salarian dalatrass with whom the krogan ambassador had been meeting. _Just who was this damn ambassador_, Kaidan wondered. The files simply referred to him as "Patriarch," but Kaidan couldn't find any mention of a name, previous diplomatic experience, not even a clan. "Why is this guy even negotiating a used speeder sale?"

"Kaidan?"

"Sorry, Commander. I just can't figure out why the krogan chose this... Patriarch to be their ambassador."

"What did you just say," Shepard demanded, stalking toward Kaidan. Over his shoulder, he added, "Chorban, you're dismissed."

The salarian beat a hasty retreat as the two Spectres huddled over the report Kaidan had been looking over.

"The krogan ambassador? He just goes by 'Patriarch.'"

"Has there been any news about Aria T'Loak lately?"

Kaidan looked confused, but pulled up another report. "She's back on Omega. That's the last I've got. Why?"

"I think we're going to have to make a stop at Omega."


	3. Chapter 3

The _Normandy _docked on Omega, not far from Afterlife. The same berth they'd had during the Collector mission, but things had changed. Instead of red light bathing everything, there was a more "natural" yellow light. It showed the rust, the dried blood, and more. However, even more obvious were the maintenance crews scrubbing said rust and dried blood. Shepard's mouth was hanging open a little as they disembarked. He'd felt weird, going to Omega in civilian clothes rather than armor, but he was not on a military mission.

There were bullet holes and blast holes everywhere, even a few gashes that looked like they came from Phantom swords. Cerberus must have really thrown all their weight at Omega in their bid to gain control of the Omega 4 relay.

"Your mouth is open," Tali muttered helpfully.

"Well, yeah," Shepard said, closing it even as he retorted. "Omega is... clean."

"Aria said she'd clean it up," Kaidan reminded him, though this wasn't what he'd expected, either.

They headed to Afterlife, not even pausing at the entrance, despite the line of people waiting to get in. Just like old times, Garrus would say.

By all accounts, no one outside the _Normandy_ crew knew that Garrus had been Archangel, but Shepard had decided he'd stay behind. It hadn't been Garrus's favorite idea of his.

"My god, you can breathe through your nose," Shepard exclaimed as they found Aria. "You're not even taking your own life in your hands to do it!"

"Since when have you minded a little danger, Shepard," was Aria's acknowledgement of their arrival, turning slowly to grace them with her attention.

"Please, it's not like I'm a thrill-seeker." Someone coughed. "Since when?"

"Throwing yourself in front of a Prothean beacon," Kaidan said, beginning to tick points off with his fingers. "Going to force Joker from the cockpit. Taking a dive of unknown depth in a tin can with legs-"

"Alright, alright, you don't get to answer those questions, you can't be objective," Shepard said, shooting him an exasperated frown.

"Speaking of which, congratulations," Aria said, looking between the two. "Guess I shouldn't have been offering you women to keep you company."

"Wouldn't have mattered," Shepard replied easily. "Where's Patriarch?"

"Right to business, then. I haven't seen him since he left for Sur'Kesh."

"Not what I asked, Aria. I asked where he is. I don't believe for a minute you don't have some idea."

"A fair assumption, but I lost track of him after Sur'Kesh, too. I've got the Blood Pack out scouting for him, or any information about him."

"You really retained control of the Blood Pack after the war?"

"Not so much control, but when the leader of a gang owes you favors, you call them in before leadership changes. I guess you're here as a Spectre?"

"You guess right. I need to find him, Aria. Do you have any leads?"

"Why would you need to find Patriarch?" Shepard frowned in response. "What I mean is, the current ambassador seems to fit the bill much better than Patriarch ever could. As the female clan leader for Clan Urdnot, she has the ear of Wrex, but she's also a Rebellion apologist, so she appeals to the council. Why would anyone use a washed-up husk of a krogan who hasn't left this station in a couple hundred years? One with no political ties, or leanings, or influence? What possible reason could there be to have him as the ambassador except-"

"You," Shepard finished, his brow knit. "Someone had him assigned as the ambassador to get to you. The negotiations were a smoke screen for an abduction."

Aria nodded, somewhat smugly. "Find who wants to get to me, and you find Patriarch."

Shepard gave her a condescending look. "That's a mighty long list, Aria."

"Don't I know it," she said brightly.

"I don't suppose you could give us a list?" Kaidan didn't like the overlord of Omega. Even meeting with her in Purgatory on the Citadel had left him feeling like he needed a shower. He'd run into her a time or two during the years between working with Shepard, and every time he'd had to give something to get something.

"Come on, Major. You're a Specre now. You don't need my help coming up with a list of enemies."

"Aria, always a pleasure," Shepard said by way of leave-taking.

"I'd appreciate it if you could return my trophy with a spitshine, Shepard," Aria replied, doing nothing to dispel the slightly sinister aura that had surrounded her since they'd helped her retake Omega. "Come see me if you want to talk later."

#

Back on the _Normandy,_ Shepard, Kaidan, Garrus, Tali, Traynor, and Felicia Hannigan gathered around the war room computer. EDI had been sifting through records, news reports, and Spectre data feeds looking for any activity that could point them towards Patriarch, but had also been collating that data to give them a list of people that would use him against Aria. It was indeed proving to be a long list.

"_Shepard, this list of potential suspects includes any remnants of Cerberus. While I retain much of my Cerberus memory banks, perhaps Ms Hannigan would be more helpful. Miranda Lawson or Jacob Taylor may also prove valuable."_

No, I won't get anyone involved from Cerberus. They're laying low for a reason. Ke-Felicia, if that's the path we go down, I'll make sure you're protected. We'll drop you off on another planet."

"I told you to call me Kelly, Commander. And you will not drop me off, I will be a functioning part of this mission or I'll get off right now."

"Kelly, then. We need your skills too much. I don't like the risk, but we'll be careful. You've been looking over the list EDI's been compiling, what do you think?"

"There are some strong prospects there, but the one I keep coming back to is Councilor Tevos."

Kaidan's head snapped up. "The asari councilor? Why?"

"The thing that sticks in my mind is a C-Sec report from Aria's stint on the Citadel. An immigration & customs officer approached Aria after she'd been there for three weeks to demand that she submit to processing. Aria simply called the councilor and she was cleared through."

Kaidan frowned. "Why would it be that simple unless Aria had something on the councilor?"

"My thoughts exactly, Major," Kelly/Felicia replied.

Kaidan shook his head. "But Tevos is the one that essentially tapped us for this mission," he said looking at Shepard.

"No, Sparatus did."

"Do you think-"

"There's something fishy going on? Yes. EDI, what do the gossip columns say about Tevos and Sparatus?"

Kaidan couldn't have looked more stunned as EDI replied. "_There have been ongoing reports of tension between the two for the last fifty years. Many of the claims are rebuked by sources within the councilor's staff, and are often followed with public appearances at lunch together."_

"Any recent?"

"Shepard," Kaidan exclaimed. "Gossip columns? Really?"

"Where else are you going to find that information, Kaidan?"

Kaidan's mouth snapped shut and his brows knit, but he remained quiet. Shepard moved on.

"Garrus, do you have anyone that might know if those rumors are true?"

"_Reliable_ sources? Maybe one or two. I'll get on it."

"EDI, where's Liara right now?"

_"Dr T'Soni is currently on Illium."_

"Perfect. Let's head to Illium, Garrus, I want to hear what happens when you call your contacts."

Everyone broke, Garrus going to the comms room, Tali to one of the workstations, Traynor and Kelly to the CIC, and Shepard and Kaidan to their cabin. Once they got in the elevator, Kaidan could no longer contain himself.

"Gossip columns? Shepard, what's going on?"

"Babe, I think we've been sent on a personal mission disguised as rescuing an ambassador."

Kaidan looked thunderstruck.

"Here's the pieces, as I see them," and he began ticking points off with his fingers. "Tevos and Sparatus are fighting. A krogan ambassador was chosen who is not at all up to the task. Tevos is under some sort of pressure from Aria T'Loak. The krogan ambassador is a trophy of Aria's. Sparatus sends me the information on the missing diplomat. Tevos takes over the briefing and sends us on our merry way."

"Where's Valern during all this?"

"Where indeed."

"It seems a little... too easy to put the pieces together, though."

"Unless you consider a salarian dalatrass who has never been a major player on the galactic stage."

"The krogan are negotiating with the salarians. Why are they _only_ negotiating with the salarians? Why not just deny them outright?"

"That one makes sense to me. If you're willing to let them expand, but want them to work for it, wouldn't you put them up against someone who was hard to convince? I think that the asari and the turians agree that the krogan have earned the right to expand, the salarians would be the holdovers. I think that by having them negotiate with the salarians, and only them, they'd be subtly siding with the krogan, which puts the pressure on the salarians, but also ensuring that the krogan don't get whatever they ask for. What," he asked, as Kaidan stared.

"Maybe we were too hasty. Maybe you should take Udina's spot on the council..."

"Bite your tongue, Mr Shepard," the Commander responded with mock outrage as the elevator doors opened. Kaidan merely narrowed his eyes.

"I'm just saying, that was a lot of political labyrinth-maneuvering."

"I picked up a few tricks during the war. Doesn't make me a politician."

Kaidan kissed him chastely on the lips. "I'd never dream of insulting you like that."

"Politicians are the weeds of the galaxy, remember," Shepard asked as he pulled Kaidan out of the elevator and in for a better kiss. He stopped in his tracks as he turned around. "What is that," he asked, pointing at a placard near the door. Kaidan smiled.

"Well, we... um. We had one printed for you to go on the memorial wall, underneath Anderson. After we rescued you, we stood around, were going to put it on the wall, but then it seemed like you were going to pull through, so we... found somewhere else to put it."

#

Kaidan wandered down to the crew deck, in search of Kelly/Felicia. He found her, sitting alone at the conference/mess table under the monitors.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Major," she exclaimed, somewhat startled. "Of course, I'd love to talk to you."

"How... I guess, actually, my first question is, what should I call you?"

She laughed a little. "Now that Cerberus is mostly gone, I prefer being Kelly, if you please."

"Kelly it is. Now that's settled, are you going to be ok?"

"You mean, since we might possibly be going up agains the organization that tried, legitimately tried, to kill me, lined people up and executed them for not knowing who I was, will I be able to keep myself together?"

"Yes. That's what I mean."

She barked a laugh. "I don't suppose I'll be able to give you any more honest an answer than 'we'll see,' Major."

"Kelly, you've been through a lot. More than most people, even during the Reaper war. Your experience on the Collector ship, and now being hunted by Cerberus... You once told Shepard that you wouldn't step foot on this ship again. What changed for you?"

She seemed to consider her answer for a moment, twisting her lips and staring unfocused before turning her gaze back on Kaidan. "When I told Shepard that, it was at the beginning of the war. No one really, truly understood what this was was going to do to us, to people. We didn't understand the horror of having indoctrinated neighbors, or leaders. We didn't know that they'd be turning our asari friends into those... Banshees, or turians into Marauders. There was untold horror awaiting each of us, and I was useful in the refugee camps on the Citadel. Once the war was over, there were so many angry orphans and widows, people needing answers. I did that for a time, and was good at it, and I'll miss it. But working with Shepard, that was the first time I'd felt like what I did made a difference, not just on an individual basis, but for the whole galaxy. It's a heady feeling, and I won't deny that gives my self-confidence a much needed boost."

Kaidan smiled, understanding.

"How are you doing, Major? Adjusting to married life?"

He laughed in the intimate way of someone talking about their own relationship. "I'm not sure there's been much adjustment. We spent most of the last year and change together, fighting the war, then during his recovery. Honestly, Kelly. I thought I'd lost him once. Now that I've got him back, and really _have_ him, I'm so grateful for every minute that..." he shrugged, knowing he didn't have a way to finish that sentence. "If anything's changed, it's that we're closer together. It just seems like... I don't know. We're a team now. It feels like every decision is not just 'me and kinda him,' they're all 'us.' It's a subtle change, but..."

"Do you think there'll be any impact on the mission?"

"What," Kaidan replied, distressed. "No!"

"I'm sure your wedding must have driven Alliance brass crazy. No fraternization rules, but then you're both Spectres, so you're no longer technically a part of the Alliance structure..."

"I know when Shepard was made Spectre, the Alliance reached out to the other races to see how they'd dealt with where Spectres fit in the command structure, but I didn't give a second thought to how it would work out for our careers when I sat him down..."

"Wait, you sat _him_ down? Commander Shepard, hero of the galaxy, had to be _asked?"_

"Wait a minute-"

"Oh, don't get defensive, Major. I suppose it's only natural that a man so aggressive would have something that he's passive about. I just... after our talk, I thought he was going to make a move on you."

"Well, he might have, but.. Um... I messed it up. I more or less told him I didn't trust him."

Kelly quirked an eyebrow. "Well, that would do it. Trust has always been a major issue for him."

"Well, I hope people are done doubting him now. He's earned it. He's paid for it with his life."

"Twice, if you let him tell it."

Kaidan rolled his eyes. "Is he really telling everyone that?"

She laughed. "Yes but don't worry. He tells people he didn't really die the second time. Or at least, he told me that."

Kaidan's eyes took on a haunted look. "They didn't believe me when I told them he wasn't dead. Even Garrus was skeptical."

"Can you blame them?"

"I shouldn't, but I do."


	4. Chapter 4

_Note: Sorry it's been so long! Thanks for your patience. I found my footing, so chapters should be faster from now on. XOXO_

Pulling his leather jacket a little tighter against the wind, Kaidan joined Shepard, Garrus and Tali as they exited the cab to enter Liara's apartment building. He wasn't completely convinced that this wasn't a wild goose chase, but Shepard made a compelling case to at least follow it down. His forefinger began running over the skin around his thumb, searching for a snag as they waited for Liara to open the door. Shepard knew where it was, having been here during the Collector mission. Kaidan was impressed that he remembered that sort of thing. Maybe it was some N7 memory training thing, but mostly Kaidan just attributed it to the spacer lifestyle his lover- _husband- _ had grown up living.

The door slid open to reveal Liara in a plain white dress, a wide smile on her beautiful blue face. She invited them in, Shepard again displaying his familiarity with the place. He asked Liara why she hadn't moved after the assassination attempt.

"Shepard, if I moved after every time someone tried to kill me since I met you, I wouldn't have a home anywhere!"

Pleasantries were exchanged, then they all sat and began the discussion in earnest.

"I can't say I know of any specific discord between Sparatus and Tevos, at least not in the last two years. There has been significant bickering between them since the Reaper War, though."

"Do you have your files on the two of them handy," Kaidan asked.

At that moment, a lean drell with olive and rose skin akin to an amphibian came down the stairs and greeted them all, once again with familiarity to Shepard. To Kaidan's very great surprise, the beautiful alien wrapped an arm around Liara's waist. Shepard introduced him as Feron to Kaidan, who raised an eyebrow at Liara but said nothing.

"The Councilors are often at each other's throats," Feron contributed, "and their structure of power is very nuanced. Salarians and asari have been on the council the longest, so there is solidarity there as the most 'enlightened' of the council races, but asari and turians live longer than salarians, so Tevos and Sparatus have been on the council longer than Valern, so they have personal unity there. Then there's the typical gender-based camaraderie that Sparatus and Valern would have over the asari. All that was thrown out the window when Anderson was on the council, he was seen as a balancing force. Udina, on the other hand, was more power-hungry, so the other councilors tended to act in a reactionary manner to him. Now that Osoba is keeping your seat warm, Shepard-" There was some "woah"-ing and hand shaking to that statement, but Feron continued. "None of the other councilors are making much effort to get to know him. They're not excluding him, but he's certainly seen as temporary."

"What's this about keeping Shepard's seat warm," Tali asked, looking between Shepard and Feron.

"Rumor has it Shepard's being courted to be Udina's replacement," Kaidan said, managing to make the statement with a straight face, but covering his face with his hand as soon as the words were out.

"I turned them down," Shepard said to Kaidan in an underdtone, then, to the room at large, he repeated, "I turned them down!"

Liara licked her lips to disguise her smile, then looked at Feron. "Do _you_ know of any significant discord between the two?"

"The turians, like the rest of the galaxy, weren't pleased to find out that the asari had been hiding a Prothean beacon for 50,000 years, which has caused discord between the two governments, but nothing council-related."

"Tevos told me she only just found out about it when she ordered me there," Shepard noted.

"I'm inclined to believe her," Liara stated. "There was literally nothing in the Broker's files to indicate that was there. The Illusive Man must have followed the pattern Kaidan described, how the asari made a breakthrough every couple hundred years to stay on top, to draw his conclusions."

"So you didn't actually miss anything," Shepard said, his face shining with vindication.

"Obviously I did, the pieces were there, I just didn't interpret them right. Maybe I was too assured of asari superiority," she said, a sarcastic grin on her face as she pinned Garrus with a look.

"Shepard," Garrus said, pointedly avoiding Liara's gaze, "how did you jump from 'this is my mission" to 'search the gossip columns?'"

"Gossip colums? Really, Shepard?" Liara was incensed.

"When he has the Shadow Broker on speed dial, too," Kaidan said, shaking his head with mock severity.

"You know, this is not my thing," Shepard said with a flail of his hands. "I'm a soldier. I shoot things. Apparently, I also knock heads together. Political intrigue and mystery? That's over my head. That's Kaidan's thing. But since I was contacted with the mission, I had to start somewhere, and a _certain _doe-eyed asari taught me that gossip columns were sometimes great sources of information."

Liara's face reddened as she protested. "That was before I became the Shadow Broker!"

"I'm feeling like this may be my new calling, Liara. Do we have to fight now?"

She merely glared at him.

#

Leaving Liara and Feron behind, the four friends climbed back into their cab to return to Nos Astra's port. Everyone was silent for a moment, then Tali broke the ice.

"I thought Liara was with Javik."

"No, she was just using him for his body," Garrus said with a sideways glance at the quarian. "After the Reaper mission, he made good on his claim and went off looking for the graves of his men."

"Has anyone heard from him?"

"Not in a while," Garrus said. Of the _Normandy_'s crew, Garrus and the Prothean had the easiest time seeing eye-to-eye, but Garrus had found the ancient alien "a bit too uptight" for his taste.

"I always had a feeling she and Feron were going to work their way around to a relationship some day," Shepard said.

"I'm sorry she's not joining us, but I'm glad she's putting her Shadow Broker network at our disposal," Kaidan said.

"She's pregnant," Shepard responded simply.

Silence, then:

"Why would she not tell us?!"

"When?"

"How?"

The last one was from Kaidan, which earned a snort of derision from Shepard. "I think you've been doing guys too long if you can't figure that one out."

"Not how did it happen, how did you know? You're such a child sometimes."

Shepard shrugged. "She looked different."

"She did seem to have a glow about her. I thought it was Feron."

"I didn't know asari glowed when they're pregnant," Tali said.

"It's a human expression," Kaidan explained. "Pregnant women tend to have an air of joy around them, it's almost visible, so we call it a glow."

"Turian females are usually irritated by the interruption to their service, so we try to give them a wide berth."

"Why is Tevos associated with Aria T'Loak?" Shepard pounded the dashboard in frustration.

Kaidan blinked in surprise. "We'll need to get EDI and Traynor on that, sifting through the files and reports that Glyph forwarded to the _Normandy. _I think Aria was right. I think that this incident is to embarrass her, but I don't think she's the endgame. Do you think Sparatus is using this incident to discredit Tevos? And if so, why?"

"Sparatus was well liked as a General," Garrus put in. "Somewhat ruthless, using everything at his disposal. He was put on the border to repel the geth and quarians, and was famous for using the environment against his opponents. Everything from throwing rocks to leading their fighters through dangerous rock formations. Politically, he's much the same way. Resourceful almost to a fault, but uncompromising once a decision has been made."

"Don't I know it," Shepard muttered. They were near the spaceport now, and it was growing dark. Kaidan reached over and put his hand on Shepard's thigh.

"How is any of this going to help us find Patriarch," Tali mused.

"Once we can figure out the endgame, we can follow the list of players back to his location," Kaidan explained.

"Don't we need to know who all the players are to find that information?"

"It would make it easier. For example, we have to figure out for sure if Sparatus is behind this or if Tevos is doing this to preempt any blowback. Or, did it happen and Tevos and Sparatus each got roped in afterwards?"

"Wheels within wheels, Kaidan. There's lots of questions there." Shepard was irritated. This was not, as he said, his milieu. He was going to have to rely on Kaidan to puzzle it out. He may be good at head-cracking diplomacy, but Kaidan was the one who was going to put the pieces together.

"What are you thinking," Garrus asked.

"I'm thinking Ontarom is going to be the first in a long chain of stops."

.

#

Garrus drove the Hammerhead over the plains of Ontarom in search of the base their scans had indicated. He'd insisted on driving, claiming Shepard was a lunatic and not to be trusted. At Shepard's protest, Garrus launched into a tirade involving slamming straight into rock walls because Shepard had misjudged a jump, banging into every tight corner, running over local wildlife, and finally, Shepard conceded the point. Kaidan was doubled over with laughter, knowing these complaints to be true based on his own experience in the Mako.

Shepard boarded the Hammerhead ahead of everyone else, muttering the whole time about a crew who couldn't take a few bumps and upstart turians. Kaidan kissed him on the crown of his head, unable to either keep a straight face or form a sentence in Shepard's defense.

Wearing his old black armor, Kaidan in his Alliance grey & blue, it looked like nothing had changed, and yet it all had.

Tali was back on the _Normandy_ with Adams and the Donnellys, getting themselves acquainted with the engine overhaul as well as the new stealth drive upgrades. Being on a more covert diplomatic mission, the stealth technology was almost as important as it had been during the Reaper war, so planned upgrades had been rushed down the pike, without complete training or testing for the engineers. Kelly Chambers and Samantha Traynor were poring over data with EDI, looking for any information that could help.

They chugged along, all full of memories of this planet. This was where they'd first learned of Cerberus. Shepard never had any qualms about using Cerberus the way he did to help against the Collectors, despite being put back together by them, because to him, Cerberus was always the organization that poured acid into Alliance soldiers' blood to watch what happened. He'd always known he'd part ways with them, no matter how useful they could be, because he'd never be able to forgive them. Glancing over at Kaidan, though, Shepard did regret not being able to articulate those thoughts earlier. He squeezed Kaidan's thigh, then returned his attention to the scanner.

The Cerberus facility they'd raided back then was inert, with no signs of either energy or life, as was the comms hub they'd saved Grace Sato from last year. That still left plenty of settlements in which to find the information they sought.

"Do you have a direction you'd like me to head," Garrus asked innocently.

"Steer clear of any cows," Shepard said darkly.

Kaidan barked a laugh at both the pun and the memory of the shifty cow. They agreed to head to one of the feeder stations for the massive comms hub, hoping that someone would have intercepted a transmission or something.

After a brief war of glances and looks, Shepard stepped out of the Hammerhead to ask around. They headed to the communication depot near the edge of town. They worked their way _down_ the chain of command at the depot, rather than up, and struck gold while talking to a technician.

"Yeah, I think I heard something about a krogan a couple of weeks ago. They were taking him off planet, though."

"Where," Shepard asked. When the man refused to answer, Shepard pinned him against the wall with his forearm.

"I don't know anything," the man protested. A look passed between husbands and Kaidan's armor was suddenly wreathed in blue biotic mist.

"Alright!" The man was plainly terrified, especially when Shepard's own eyes turned blue. "I heard they were taking him to Presrop, but I don't know where that is!"

Kaidan and Garrus looked at each other with frustration, but Shepard calmly replied, "I do."


	5. Chapter 5

Back on the _Normandy_, the course was laid in for Presrop and it would take hours to get there. Seeing as how there was no particular urgency on this mission, EDI had taken the liberty of downloading a selection of films for the crew to watch. Some were classics, all the Blasto movies were inlcuded (Shepard had insisted once he caught wind of EDI's intentions), some were modern, and there was a selection from various species. _Vaenia_ was one of them, but Shepard wasn't sure he had the heart to see that one.

Regardless, that is how most of the crew ended up in the lounge that night with popcorn and other snacks, watching _The Three Musketeers_ in the dark. Gabby had repurposed one of the old holo-emitters from the war table during the upgrades and installed it in the lounge after EDI asked for her help with a selection of films. Tonight's selection was Kaidan's, making good on a promise he made during the war.

"Why is this the version we're watching," Shepard whispered in Kaidan's ear. They were snuggled in a corner of the couch, Kaidan holding the popcorn as he watched the screen, his attention on the film absolute until that moment.

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't there 75 versions or something? Why this one?"

"I knew you'd like the fight sequences, and I like looking at Gene Kelley."

Shepard moved his head so he could get a better look at Kaidan. "The kid?"

"He was 36 when the movie came out, Nathan. Calm down and watch the movie." They settled back in for a while, then:

"Three duels in three hours? Who does that?"

Kelly Chambers threw a piece of popcorn his way, but overshot to hit Kenneth. Garrus, who was sitting next to Shepard and Kaidan, looked at Shepard.

"I once set up four duels in four hours. Similar situation, two of them showed up to one of the duels, and I had to fight them both."

"Nice, gentle lies," Tali whispered, rubbing his thigh.

"I did!"

"You didn't. I can tell by the sound of your voice. Besides, turians don't duel, they spar."

"The story has punch just the same," Garrus protested. Kaidan smacked him in the arm.

"Speaking of punch," Kaidan whispered to Shepard, "the fight scenes in this movie set the standards for almost the next century."

"Why are they swordfighting? Aren't muskets a gun?"

"It's a... they... watch the fucking movie, Nathan."

Shepard did, smiling.

The lounge grew silent as the crew got into the movie, broken only by the occasional whispered comment.

"Is he seriously following her, ten steps behind, wearing a yellow cape and thinking he won't be seen?" Shepard was indignant. His cry of dismay was met by snorts of laughter around the room.

Kaidan found himself distracted by Shepard's proximity, Shepard was laying on the long arm of the couch, with one foot flat on the floor. Kaidan was nestled between his thighs, his back to Shepard's chest as they passed popcorn and drinks between them. He innocently shifted his hips, then felt Shepard's body respond to the friction. A wicked smile crossed his face, but his eyes never left the movie. Shepard cleared his throat and frowned a little at the screen, not acknowledging his burgeoning erection.

Kaidan casually reached behind himself with his left hand and began to slowly, surreptitiously stroke the hardening mound of Shepard's groin. He heard the Commander's breath hitch behind him, but that was the only outward acknowledgement of his arousal. Kaidan kept stroking, his own erection growing in response. Shepard's breathing grew simultaneously shallower and more harsh as Kaidan manipulated him.

Shepard tightened his grip on Kaidan, pulling his ear level with Shepard's mouth.

"Stop right now, or I won't have the energy to fuck you into the mattress when we get upstairs."

A whimper escaped Kaidan's throat as those words shot heat through his veins. To Shepard's combined relief and frustration, Kaidan removed his hand. He shimmied his hips _just _a little in protest, but then grabbed the drink and took a big sip. Shepard was feeling a little parched himself. Jesus, but no one had ever gotten him as turned on as Kaidan did. Was it the naughty sex-god that was hidden under the reserved exterior? Were they just attuned to each other's bodies, on the same frequency? It just... worked. While he'd never had full intercourse before Kaidan, he'd had fumbling encounters, mostly at the Academy, so he was not inexperienced in the ways of pleasure, but this... This was a whole other level for Shepard.

He finally got his attention back to the movie, and really enjoyed it. He cheered for the fights. The only acknowledgement of their tomfoolery was when he leaned into Kaidan's ear again and told him they'd have to get him a pair of Gene Kelly's pants, which brought out Kaidan's blush.

The film ended, and the crew dispersed, most to either the galley or the crew quarters. Kaidan and Shepard, though, headed to the elevator.

#

"You're not going to take me on the mattress," Kaidan said as the elevator doors opened. He had that look in his eye, Shepard noticed. The look that said that he was in for a _ride_, but that Kaidan was the romantic kind of turned on. No rough, animal sex tonight, no matter how urgently turned on Shepard was after Kaidan's pseudo-hand job during the movie.

Kaidan pulled Shepard by their joined hands into their cabin. He swung Shepard into him by the aquarium, embracing his husband as their bodies collided to absorb the impact. Heads tilted and mouths met. Kaidan ran his tongue along Shepard's lower lip as he pressed Shepard into him by his lower back. Shepard moaned as their cocks rubbed against each other through the fabric of their pants. Kaidan began an unprecedented oral assault, running his tongue over Shepard's teeth, the roof of his mouth, over and under Shepard's tongue, sucking and nipping at Shepard's lips, until Shepard was in danger of losing his legs.

Growling, he grabbed Kaidan and thrust him into the wall beside the aquarium, trying not to scare his precious fish. His hands fumbled with the buttons and zippers on Kaidan's jeans, and once he felt the tension pop, he pushed them down, underwear and all. He gripped Kaidan's cock with one hand, pushing against Kaidan's hole with the other hand, kissing him through the moan that tore from Kaidan's throat. Kaidan arched his back, pushing his ass back onto Shepard's fingers, craving the touch. Shepard nipped at his throat, stubble whispering against stubble.

"Yes," Kaidan whispered, breath shaky. He undid the closures on Shepard's pants, wanting to feel Shepard's skin against his own. When the pants were loose, he pushed them off Shepard's hips and ground their erections together. Shepard's fingers continued tracing lazy circles around Kaidan's puckered entrance, occasionally applying light pressure, but never attempting to get inside. Kaidan was panting now, his head leaning forward on Shepard's shoulder.

"Where's the lube," Shepard asked, eliciting another moan from Kaidan, who pointed to the nightstand. Shepard left to retrieve it, which gave Kaidan enough time to recover his senses. He wanted Shepard to work for this one. He pulled off the rest of his clothes, then slipped into the head, barely making a sound. The shower started and he stood under the water. Shepard burst into the bathroom a moment later, confused sexual aggression written all over his face.

"What the hell, Kaidan?"

Slowly, insolently, Kaidan turned, knowing the water was creating enticing rivulets down his bare skin. Sure enough, Shepard's gaze darkened and his lips parted.

"I'm just taking a shower, Nathan. Want to make sure I'm clean." Very deliberately, he chose that moment to soap up his groin. If he'd been forced to testify, Kaidan would have sworn Shepard had started vibrating. "Want to join me," he asked as he reached behind himself to start soaping his ass.

"Fuck, Kaidan," Shepard groaned. "What are you doing to me?"

"Don't know what you're talking about," Kaidan said, taking two steps backward to stand under the spray.

"That's... so unfair..."

"Was there something you wanted, Nathan?"

"You know there is," Shepard growled.

Kaidan lowered his gaze so he was looking at Shepard through his eyelashes. "Then come get it."

Shepard stalked into the head and reached out for Kaidan, who danced away from his grasping hands. Shepard tried again to no avail. Kaidan slipped out of the bathroom, naked and dripping wet, eyes inviting the chase. After a brief scuffle, Kaidan sought refuge in the chair by their desk. He knelt in the seat, using the chair back to shield his groin. Shepard was undeterred. He swung the chair around, grabbed Kaidan by the hips, and relished the gasp as his tongue touched Kaidan's rim.

Kaidan squirmed, chasing Shepard's tongue, moaning low when that tongue penetrated him. Shepard began a slow, steady tongue-fucking rhythm which had Kaidan's toes curling. Shepard, meanwhile, reached down and began slowly stroking himself, teasing just enough to keep himself hard. When he sensed Kaidan was ready, he stood and applied the lube to both of them. He them lined himself with Kaidan's entrance and pushed gently with a rocking motion. If Kaidan wanted to tease, Shepard was more than happy to return the favor.

Shepard began to take Kaidan inch by inch. Both of them were panting, but Kaidan turned to butter in Shepard's arms when Shepard took a moment to use small stokes to rub against Kaidan's prostate. Kaidan whimpered helplessly at the assault, adding fuel to the fire burning in Shepard's gut. Resuming his efforts to become fully encased in Kaidan, Shepard pushed forward. Finally, he was fully inside and took a moment to kiss Kaidan's neck.

Rolling his hips brought a moan from both of them, and Kaidan pushed back with his hips for more. "I'm not going to last long," he warned.

"Me neither," Shepard replied. "Let's make the most of it."

Still kneeling on the chair gave Kaidan the leverage he needed to push back and meet Shepard's long, steady thrusts. His moans were not the gasps and grunts that Shepard usually got, but something deeper, longer. It was so incredibly erotic, that Shepard couldn't help himself when he pulled Kaidan's hair, tugging his head to the side, and bit his shoulder.

That was it for both of them. Warm streams of cum shot from Kaidan, who hadn't even touched himself, as Shepard emptied himself deep inside his husband. He felt it dripping out, running down his balls, but he was too wrapped up in the release to care. He pulled Kaidan close and kissed him, rough but lovingly.

#

Kaidan leaned against Shepard, gently, for he knew his husband was standing on shaky legs, still deep inside him. This was the release he'd been craving all day long. He had maybe gotten too used to having a concrete objective with clear results during the Reaper War. He was having to tap back into the "follow the clues" mindset and training he'd had for the Terminus systems, which had led him to Horizon. Unfortunately, it was not an automatic switch, so he was getting frustrated with their slow progress. He felt like they were swimming through syrup trying to solve this, with the ambassador's life potentially in the balance.

Shepard pulled out of him gently, nuzzling Kaidan's neck as he did so, but Kaidan had enough practice that it wasn't uncomfortable anymore. He got down off the chair, his own legs shaky, and moved to lie down on the bed, Shepard joining him after grabbing a towel from the head. They curled around each other after cleaning up, cuddling and comforting.

"I love you, Kaidan," Shepard said. Kaidan was surprised. Not that Shepard loved him, though that was amazing all by itself, but that Shepard said it so easily. While no one who knew them could have ever denied the truth of that statement, it had taken the Reaper War to bring them together, and even then, it had taken them a while to bring themselves to say it. Kaidan had been ready shortly after they started their relationship, but knew that Shepard wasn't. He held off saying it as long as he could. The closest he came was telling Shepard that his impulsiveness was one of the things he loved about him after the Leviathan mission.

Finally, he hadn't been able to keep it to himself. "I know you're not ready to say this, but I love you. I don't want you to worry about saying it back, I know you will, when you're ready." It maybe took Shepard a week. Then came London, where Shepard had told him that he'd always love him. And then -

"What is your kind of place," Shepard asked, apropos of nothing.

"I-what?"

"I was just remembering going back to the Citadel, with Ash, and she wondered how much it cost to live there. You said it wasn't your kind of place, but there were some great views. What _is_ your kind of place?"

"You were thinking about Ashley after having sex with me?"

Shepard's cheeks colored. "No! I was thinking about us, our future together. The place in Atlanta is great, I love it. But it was free, so I was wondering if you liked it, and I realized we've never really talked about things like that."

"Things like houses?"

Shepard looked a little shy. "Yes. I've never done this stuff before, Kaidan. I've never had anybody to do it with. Hell, for a while there, I wasn't even sure I was going to live long enough to do it. Almost didn't. When are you supposed to talk about this stuff?"

"You're asking me, the career soldier? I've never been with anybody, either, remember?"

"Did you talk about it with Rahna?"

Kaidan laughed a little. "At sixteen? No."

"Did you love her?" Another mental right turn, without a signal.

Kaidan took a moment, truly considering his answer. "In the way that a sixteen year old can, yeah, I guess I did."

"I don't know what that means," Shepard replied, turning to look at Kaidan's face.

"Well, when you're sixteen, everything is intense. Every feeling is new, so crushes and infatuations feel so intense, it's like love. The emotion is real, though, so I guess it is, but you're sixteen. You're selfish, the love isn't about the other person. You don't really know what loving entails, what you really have to do to make that relationship work. Now that I'm older, and really, truly in love, I can look back and say, 'no, I didn't love her, I didn't know what love was,' but that's not true to how I felt at the time."

"Huh." And that was all Shepard had to say about the matter.

"My kind of place is probably more like what my parents have in Vancouver. Somewhere near the water, with a good view of a spaceport, and clear night skies. But I've grown very fond of cramped captain's quarters with skylights, and warm Southern climates with a big front porch. I don't know that I have a place anymore that doesn't have you in it."

Shepard jerked his head upward, looking at Kaidan again. "Wow. That was really sappy."

"Shut up," Kaidan replied, kissing him.


	6. Chapter 6

"Alright," Shepard sighed as he walked in the conference room. "I'm tired of wondering what's going on between the asari and turian councilors. I want some answers. Who's most likely to replace them if one of them dies or is otherwise removed from the council? What's the latest rumor about why they're fighting? _Is_ there a rumor that they're fighting? Do they have mutual interests that are at risk? Do they have individual interests that are at risk? Does anyone have answers for me?"

"Well," Kelly started hesitantly. "We've been working on the 'next in line question.' An asari named Irissa is considered next in line for Tevos's seat, Quentius Orinia stands to inherit Sparatus's seat, and, in case you're curious, Esheel is the next likely salarian."

"Who are they," Kaidan said, stepping over to stand beside Kelly. "And what are they into?"

"Not as much information as we'd like," Traynor sighed. "While Irissa is several hundred years old, she's mostly been a diplomat for Thessia, working between colony worlds. A lot of her assignments are classified, or so redacted as to be worthless."

"How can this be? If she's next in line, shouldn't she be more well-known?"

"She's not running for President, Major," Kelly picked up. "The asari have no obligation to provide us with anything more. Other species really have no say in who gets elected to the council."

"I nominated Anderson to the Council, and they said that they would take it under advisement," Shepard argued.

"No, they said your recommendation would carry some weight, humans elected Anderson," Kelly countered. She turned to Traynor. "So you're saying that Irissa's not that big a player, so she might not have anything to do with this?"

"I wasn't saying that at all. In fact, I'd be surprised _if _this is truly a Council intrigue, if she didn't have anything to do with it. She's been quite outspoken about her qualifications, her close ties with each of the asari colony worlds, hinting that Tevos has been on the Council too long, lost sight of asari interests. She was on Thessia when the Reapers came, so she's seen as one of the leaders in the dissident movement."

"Dissident movement?" Shepard looked at Kaidan in confusion.

"Do you read the files we get sent," Kaidan asked, exasperated. "The asari public is up in arms about the Prothean beacon in the Temple of Athame. They're blaming the government for letting the Reaper invasion get as bad as it did by holding back the knowledge of the beacon."

"They're not wrong," Shepard said darkly. "If we'd found Vendetta sooner, the catalyst would have been ready as soon as the Reapers got here. Hell, we might not have lost a single world, because we'd have known the Reapers existed. The batarians, the elcor... even the geth were decimated because of the asari holding out on us."

Kaidan cleared his throat to cover his belief that at least two of those weren't _such_ a bad thing.

"On the other hand," Traynor continued, "it makes her a bit of a wild card in asari politics, which is usually a bit of a good-old-boys' club. Or, a good-old-girls' club, rather."

"Okay, I like her for this. Let's shoot this theory to Liara and see what else she can dig up. Who else you got?" Kaidan crossed his arms, his brows knit together thoughtfully. Shepard wanted to lick the crease between them. He cleared his throat and returned his attention to Traynor, who began talking about the turian, Orinia.

"Citadel politics runs in his blood. His mother was the turian ambassador to the Citadel for a while. She and Executor Pallin put together a heavily redacted assault on some target back in 2188. No idea what that was about, what the goals were, the outcome, but it didn't seem to have done anything to her, politically. Her son 'inherited' her position, having proved himself a successful negotiator during several turian conflicts. He was never much of a fighter, but he always got the job done."

"What's his relationship with Sparatus?"

"None, so far as I know. Extremely professional, cordial, just enough opposition to some of Sparatus's decisions to make it seem like he might think he could do better, but he never comes out and says that."

"Hmmm. Chase that mouse down. There _could_ be something there, but I"m not putting him high on my list. What about the salarian?"

"If this had arisen to get Valern replaced, I would absolutely have put Esheel's name on the list. He's gotten where he is by bribing, manipulating, and persuasion. That's not to say that he isn't a skilled diplomat, he is. He was governor of Nasum for ten years, which is almost unheard of, given the salarians short life span. Once he left that position, he's been jockeying back and forth, negotiating contracts, treaties, whatever he could."

"Building up support," Kaidan mused, picking at his thumbnail absently.

"That's my guess. But he doesn't appear to have any reason to go after the other two. None of his connections or assets would stand to gain from Tevos or Sparatus leaving the Council."

"Well, I think we should talk to Irissa. Where is she now?"

"She's back on Thessia, Major. She's usually grouped in with an asari Matriarch, Aethyta, in terms of rabble-rousing, though the two are rarely involved with the same event. Why are you smiling, Shepard?"

"Because I know Aethyta. And she'll tell me if there's something going on with Irissa."

#

Shepard literally couldn't wait to get Kaidan alone. He indicated for Kaidan to hang back from the rest of the group, and they left the conference room together, Shepard's hand on Kaidan's ass.

"Really," Kaidan asked incredulously. "We just had sex last night!"

"So? I'm on the mend, Kaidan. We don't have to be careful anymore." Shepard steered them into the elevator. Kelly looked like she wanted to say something to Shepard, but his look caught her eye and she moved away, eyes twinkling.

"I don't know that _that's_ true," Kaidan said, but that was all he got out as Shepard's hand slid down his pants and grabbed his cock, which had hardened with the ass caress. "Nathan," he hissed as he pressed his hips forward, his erection pushing further into Shepard's hand.

"I don't know what it is about you, Kaidan, but I can't keep my hands off you." He began stroking Kaidan's length at a brutal pace, whispering in Kaidan's ear. "You're so fucking hot. I want to lick those freckles above your eyebrow. Tonight, I think I'm going to eat your ass while you grind against the sheets until you cum, and I'm going to jerk off while I do it."

Kaidan moaned and threw his head back. It hit the wall with a sharp thud, but he didn't care, as long as Shepard kept talking to him like that.

"Nathan," he gasped, and that was all he could get out before the orgasm tore through him, sapping the strength from his legs as he pumped load after load over Shepard's hand and into his own pants.

When he finished, Shepard withdrew, chuckling, then licked his hand clean.

The elevator doors opened and Shepard pushed Kaidan out into the hallway in front of their cabin.

"Better clean up, Major. You're out of uniform."

The elevator doors closed on a stunned Kaidan, and Shepard smiled all the way down to the CIC. As he stepped out, he pretended not to notice Kelly's knowing smirk. Heading to the cockpit past her and Traynor, who were working side by side at a station under the galaxy map, he was interrupted by Chorban.

"Commander Shepard! I'm glad I ran into you. I believe that I've found the root of the problem with EDI. I've been operating on the theory that it's code is lost. While working with it, I discovered that those code fragments are there, but they are blocked. I believe it may be a side effect of this retroactive shackling that she's operating with."

"I didn't think EDI was shackled."

"Well, she's not, technically, but it is sort of like that. The problem is that this is a little out of my area of expertise. I'm great at what I do, I am. But I may need some help. Synthetic Insights was doing great work with Artificial Intelligence. We should see if they have anyone that can help us."

"It just so happens I know someone at Synthetic Insights that owes me a favor."

"If you can get a hold of one of them, we might be able to collaborate."

With that, he headed to the cockpit.

"Where are we headed, Commander," Joker said, his tone belying the stress his casual words tried to hide. Shepard brought Joker up to speed, informing him that they were headed for Thessia instead of Presrop, having decided they'd find Patriarch faster by solving the mystery. He took a seat at one of the auxiliary stations behind the pilot.

"How are you feeling, EDI," he asked when he was finished.

"I feel fine, Shepard."

"What are you working on?"

"I am currently assisting Lieutenant Traynor and Ms Chambers with their inquiries to locate Matriarch Aethyta on Thessia. I am also assisting Doctor Chakwas in researching salarian methods of suppressing motion sickness."

"You're joking."

"In fact, I am not. Specialist Chorban is experiencing a degree of motion sickness he says is newly developed. His medical records state differently."

"EDI, do you still tell jokes?"

"I do."

"Prove it."

"A blonde was bragging about her knowledge of earth capitals. She proudly said, 'Go ahead and quiz me. I know all of them!' Her friend said, 'O.K. then, what's the capital of France?' The blonde replied, 'Oh, that's so easy! F.'

Shepard and Joker chuckled. "EDI, do you want someone to work on restoring your personality code?"

"Much of my code was self-modified by the time of deactivation, Shepard. I am uncertain that such a thing is possible."

"That may be, but I have an idea of someone else who might be able to help, or at least come up with some ideas. Would you like me to see if he's interested?"

EDI paused for a moment, then turned to look at Shepard. "Do you prefer my personality with the modifications?"

"EDI, it's entirely your choice. You became my friend, and I respect your right to develop as you see fit. But your modifications provided you the relationship with Joker you both desired. Do you want to be old EDI, or take the chance that you'll develop differently?"

"Shepard, what is your opinion?" EDI asked. The blank expression on her face made it plain to Shepard that she was not, in fact, all home yet.

"EDI, that's a choice I can't make for you. Your programming was altered with your preferences, the code written by you, the same way an organic's personality is a direct result of the choices they've made, the friends they have, the environment they're in."

"This is true. But there are memories that are lost to me that could only be gotten through restoring that code. Memories that might help our mission. And I could be with Mister Moreau again, the way he wants me to be."

Joker whimpered as she called him by his old name, but otherwise made no outward sign of distress. EDI made a good point. The information that she gleaned as a result of her modified programming could help them both now and in the future.

"I can't order you one way or the other, but I think, as your friend and commanding officer, that we should restore the code. I will respect your decision, though, whichever you decide."

"Thank you, Shepard." With that, EDI turned and resumed her task. Joker shared a meaningful glance with Shepard, and Shepard patted him on the shoulder as he walked away.

#

He headed to the QE comms room, asking Traynor to connect him to Lorik Qui'in at Synthetic Insights.

"Commander Shepard! It's been a long time," Qui'in said by way of greeting.

"How are things on Noveria?"

"Cold. Gianna Parisini tells me she ran into you on Illium a little while ago."

"She did. I helped her on another case then, too. I'm going to cut to the chase, if you don't mind. Our ship has an AI, the Enhanced Defense Intelligence. We call her EDI. She was unshackled a couple of years ago, and then when we defeated the Reapers, she lost a lot of her self-modified code." He spent the next couple of minutes describing what he knew of the problem, then summoned Chorban to fill in the gaps in his knowledge. The two bantered back and forth with technobabble, and then Qui'in looked to Shepard.

"Shepard, this is an intriguing proposition. If Synthetic Insights is seen in any way as having helped restore the AI of the savior of the galaxy, it could lead to significant contracts, both with the Alliance military and the Council. Besides that, the problem you have encountered could have far-reaching consequences. It could be extrapolated and help us restore the entire mass relay system. I will book passage to Thessia and join you on your mission, at least until EDI is restored."

"We'll see you then, Mr Qui'in."

They signed off, Chorban going to the AI core to resume his work and prepare for the collaboration. Shepard headed to the CIC, where a freshly showered Kaidan stood with Traynor and Kelly Chambers, looking shell-shocked. Wrapping his arm around Kaidan's waist, Shepard asked for an update.

"It's Rahna, Nathan." At Shepard's quirked eyebrow, Kaidan elaborated. "Irissa's assistant is Rahna."

"A human?"

"That's what's odd, Commander," Lieutenant Traynor explained. "It's all over the extranet. It's not unusual for the diplomats on other planets, or even the Citadel, to have an assistant of a different race, but for one based on their home planet to have an alien on staff, particularly as their chief assistant, raised a lot of eyebrows."

Looking at Kaidan, Shepard asked, "do you think this is a coincidence?"

Shaking his head a little, Kaidan said "No, but I don't see how the pieces fit together."

Patting him on the shoulder, Shepard assured him they would figure it out.

Traynor bent over the station to read her screen, then notified the Commander of an intercepted distress call. Shepard asked for it in the comm room, leaving those three to work through the information they were gleaning.

"Is anyone there," a small, frightened voice asked as Shepard turned the corner into the QE room. The voice belonged to a small human child. Because of the haircut, it was difficult to tell if this was a girl or boy. Shepard idly wondered if he'd be having nightmares about this child soon.

"I"m here. Who's there?"

"Please, sir, we're under attack."

"Where are you? What's your name?"

"My name is Irina. We're colonists on Sanves, and we're under attack! Please help us!"

"Irina, my name is Commander Shepard." The girl's eyes comically widened as she recognized the name. "Irina, I'm going to come help you. You have to tell me where you are."

"What if they're listening? They're flying in ships and shooting us."

"Irina, I'm coming to help you. Stay safe, I'll talk to you when this is over. Do you believe me?"

She shook her head, then disappeared as the line went dead.

"EDI, get Cortez and a contingent of soldiers ready down in the shuttle bay, suited up, full arsenal and combat gear. Have Kaidan meet me there."

"_Yes, Shepard_."

He stalked to the elevator, barking at Traynor to pinpoint that location and send it to the shuttle. Kaidan was already waiting for him by the elevator.

"What's going on?"

"Colony under attack at Sanves, if you can believe it. I want you to go ahead to Thessia with _Normandy_. We'll signal when we're ready for extraction. I'm taking Cortez and a few marines down with me to clean this up."

"Who would be attacking a human colony? Why's there one this close to asari space?"

"Excellent questions. I'll let you know when I find out."

They stepped out into the shuttle bay and Shepard turned toward his locker. He briefed Kaidan as he suited up. They were both inclined to think that the batarians were attacking, but the batarians had committed their ships during the Reaper War and then gone off to lick their wounds afterwards. Either Balak had survived, or someone else got the idea that humans were to blame for all their troubles.

"Shepard, I don't like jetting off and leaving you in the middle of a fight."

Shepard stood up from adjusting his boots and smiled his Cocky Smile at Kaidan. "Relax! I'll see you in a couple days. They can't be worse than Reapers or Collectors, can they?"

Kaidan's face fell flat. "Is that _really_ what you want to use to console me?"

Shepard kissed him, a quick peck on the cheek, then hopped onto the shuttle. "See you soon!"

Cortez met Kaidan's eyes as he pulled the shuttle off, an unspoken agreement passing between them that Cortez would bring Shepard back safely to Kaidan.


	7. Chapter 7

Shepard felt a _little_ guilty sending Kaidan off to Thessia by himself. Technically, this was Shepard's mission, but talking, and diplomacy, and doing things the right way, that was Kaidan's thing. _This_, the battle, and rescuing, this was Shepard's thing. Besides, the colony really was under attack, they could see it from orbit, and there was the mystery of a human girl sending a distress call from a colony in asari space.

"Steve," Shepard offered as greeting as he sat in the seat opposite Cortez. "How've you been? I haven't seen you since the wedding. Haven't really talked to you since London." Every soldier that had fought during the Reaper War used "London" as shorthand for the end of the war, whether they were actually fighting in London or not. Of course, Shepard and Cortez had been there. Shepard had watched Cortez get shot down.

"Been doing alright, Shepard. Started seeing someone, but like I told you, whenever you call, I'll answer."

"Seeing someone? I thought you and Vega-"

"Just a casual thing. Guys aren't really his thing. It's for the best. Don't get me wrong, if _he_ calls, I'll come answering, but he's seeing one of the other N7s. He sent me a picture. She's pretty."

"Oh." Cortez's words indicated he was fine, but the amount of words indicated, even to Shepard, that he wasn't quite all right. "Well, I'm sorry I pulled you away-"

"Shepard, I owe you my life. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than piloting you down to another mission. Besides, if someone else piloted _you_ around, you might get killed. And then where would Kaidan be?"

Shepard smirked a little. "Well, there's no better shuttle pilot around. Wouldn't have made it through the war without you."

"Yeah, yeah. We're coming up on our LZ, Commander. I tried to find you one closer, but the area's just too hot."

"What are we looking at? Batarians? Vorcha?"

"Tough to say, really. There are three ships down there, they look like they're salvage, because they don't necessarily match any ship classification descriptions."

"Scan the ground for a visual. See anything?"

"Lots of fire, people running and screaming, bodies, ... Jesus, Shepard. It looks like London."

Seeing the look on Cortez's face, Shepard calmed the alarm growing within him. He'd seen that look before. "You're not there, Steve. That was almost two years ago. You're on a shuttle, with me, Commander Shepard, bound for Sanves, an asari colony. The war is over."

In a toneless voice, Cortez responded automatically. "Sanves... the war... is over," and with those words, he gave his head a shake, dispelling the flashback and the traumatic memories it came with. Shepard would need to have Kelly talk with Cortez.

In truth, the colony didn't look like London at all, once you got past the bombed out look of the place. Sanves was all pre-fab structures, urban-planned gardens and squares, while London was a city with over 2,000 years of history that the Reapers had done their best to wipe out. And London had been largely evacuated... or harvested. But the trauma of the Reaper war was going to take a long time to get over. Shepard's own nightmares were no longer peopled by a little boy and whispering ghosts, but by the Illusive Man's corroded face.

The shuttle shook as it hit some turbulence and Shepard returned from his ruminations. They were coming up on the designated landing zone. He patted Cortez on the shoulder then moved to the back compartment to rally his troops.

"We're approaching the LZ, and it is hot. Enemy combatants are unknown, but this is a civilian colony. There are asari and at least one human here, so watch your fire. Defend the colonists, that's your primary objective. Keep in close contact, the parameters may change. No more colonists die today, am I clear?"

The soldiers "hoo-ahhed" and began checking their weapons and armor. No questions, no videoconferencing, no checking with EDI, just a simple rescue and defend mission. It felt kind of good to go back to normal. Kaidan would argue that their lives had never been normal, but these uncomplicated missions without galaxy-dooming consequences? Shepard was glad they were back.

Cortez dropped the shuttle close enough to the ground that the marines could jump out. As the hatch opened, two marines took up defensive positions to either side of Shepard, their guns drawn. Shepard had his modified Disciple in his hands, raising a Barrier. He jumped out and fired to his left, where two mercenaries popped up. He Pulled one, his soldiers making quick work of them, and he got to cover.

#

Barrier, Reave, Charge, Nova...

This was Shepard's world, so much so that he lost track of time. Colonists were rescued from attackers of various races. A part of Shepard's mind was working on the puzzle of so many different races banding together to form a merc group (or slaver group... whatever), but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what would draw anyone to this colony. The asari had restricted settlements on the planet for generations. Near as Shepard could tell, this colony was only months old, at most a year, begun after the Reaper war. What would draw bandits to this planet?

His inattention cost him his shields, and one of the marines in his squad fired at the vorcha that had taken advantage of his distraction. Shepard nodded his thanks and continued on.

The settlement was situated in a clearing of one of the planet's untamed natural forests. It was smart to place the settlement where growth would be restricted by natural obstacles. The reason for the asari government limiting colonization was to preserve the forests and ecology. Shepard wouldn't be surprised if the future of Sanves saw colonies built into mountains and cliffs, down into hills, rather than posting pre-fab shelters every hundred miles or so. Might be rather beautiful, he thought.

After a time, he found Irina, the girl he'd spoken to on the QED. She was under a desk in what looked like the administration building. She seemed shell-shocked. Her eyes were glazed over and her whole body trembled with fear, but she met Shepard's gaze after a time. He picked her up and swung her onto his hip, telling her to crawl around onto his back, then called for an escort. She was going to need to get to shelter. Maybe some of the other colonists was her family. Three marines surrounded him and they made their way to the building where they'd been guiding the colonists for safekeeping. No one stood to claim the child, though. Shepard hoped they'd find the parents as they continued on.

He lost himself in the rhythm of battle again, eventually getting the attackers on the run. They rounded up the slow ones, and Cortez incapacitated a few of the shuttles, but there were still some that got away. Shepard didn't know if there were colonists on those shuttles or not, but his objective was met. He returned to the "safe" building and met with the representative who stood to meet with him.

He shook hands with the asari who introduced herself as Mallene Calis. "I remember you from Noveria, Shepard."

The commander fidgeted. "Right," he said, drawing out the word.

"You led me to believe that Binary Helix wouldn't know that we were spying on them." Disapproval dripped from her words.

"Yes, about that-"

"It's the world of corporate espionage, Commander. You think I'm truly holding a grudge?"

"Well, you see, recently I've been working on a larger scale, where grudges are held for thousands of years."

"I'm aware. I suppose thanking you for my life seems 'small potatoes,' as you humans say."

"I appreciate the thought. Anyway, is there anything you can tell me about the colony that might draw attacks?"

"I really, really can't. There's literally nothing this colony does that is worth taking note. We don't mine, we have no wealth to speak of..."

"There are children, families here, from all over the galaxy."

"Special grant from the asari government. Built as a safe haven for war refugees There are people from Eden Prime, Cyone, Palaven, and more. Pretty much all the council races are represented on the planet, but other than that, there's nothing to draw attention to us over some of the other settlements."

"Are your people safe and accounted for?"

"Mostly. An official tally will come, but from what I can tell, most of us are ok. Thanks to you."

"There's a girl here, Irina. She contacted the _Normandy._ Thanks should go to her."

Irina was called and she came up to them.

"Shepard! I knew you'd come to save us!"

Shepard blinked in surprise.

"You did?"

"We've been learning about you in school. Once I knew it was you, I knew you were going to save us."

Shepard's face was charmingly blank as he looked at Calis. She laughed.

"Dr T'Soni was kind enough to forward on a copy of a program she'd designed to help teach about the Reapers. You were featured prominently."

Shepard growled. He knew that somewhere, Liara was laughing at his discomfort. He could sense it.

Two of the colonists came up to her at that moment. The human introduced himself as the settlement's governor. Nodding at Shepard, the turian notifed them that Irissa was on the comms for them.

It all clicked into place so hard Shepard was sure that Mallene must have heard it.

#

Telling the colonists that he'd like to be there to speak with Irissa, Shepard stomped with authority after them into the comms room. Shepard thought it mighty convenient that the comms hadn't been knocked out, considering many of the other essentials for the colony had been.

As her image shifted into being, Shepard noted the flicker of distressed surprise on Irissa's face as she recognized them.

"Commander Shepard, thank goodness."

"Lady Irissa, it's a pleasure. I've heard a lot about you lately."

The look of demure humility was so practiced it almost looked real. "Commander, your exploits on behalf of the entire galaxy are legendary. Allow me to thank you on behalf of the asari people."

"Thank you, but Councilor Tevos has already done so. I'm surprised to see you checking in on this settlement. The _Normandy _wouldn't have heard about the attack so soon unless we'd intercepted the distress call. And that's because we were in the area."

"I routinely check in on the asari colonies as part of my duties as a diplomat."

Shepard was shifting, so he was able to see the frown cross the face of the settlement governor, which was so fast he'd have missed it if he hadn't been looking right at the man.

"That's... so thoughtful," the governor replied. "We're still awaiting an official tally, but we believe that most of the colony was saved, thanks to Commander Shepard."

"Are any of the other settlements on the planet reporting attacks," Irissa asked, clearly irked that no one was falling over themselves to appreciate her.

"No, ma'am," Shepard replied. He'd asked Cortez to monitor for this after they ran the attackers off.

"Well, Commander Shepard, your intervention was as timely as ever. Again, I thank you for your assistance in this matter."

"All a part of my job. Finding the enemies of the Council," he said pointedly, "and their people, is the job of any Spectre."

A quirk of the muscle above her left eye was the only indication that his comment had hit home. "Well said, Commander. I look forward to meeting you in person."

"Major Alenko and the _Normandy_ should be at your door soon. I'm sorry I won't be there in person."

"Sorry to hear it. Irissa out," she said, signaling the end of the conversation.

The governor looked at Shepard.

"I'm guessing this is the first you've heard from her," Shepard noted.

"Well, she called once shortly after we started to establish ourselves, almost a year ago. But that was it. I wasn't even elected governor when that happened. I know there are a lot of asari settlements, but it wouldn't take a year to get back in touch if that was truly her priority. Is there something going on that I should know about?"

"I wouldn't concern myself with it. I would ask you, though, to remember what you just told me in case I ever need to hear it again."

The governor replied with a mystified "of course" and Shepard strode out to find his team. Irina was with them, and he complimented her again on her bravery. The little girl preened a little.

"How did you know how to call for help?"

"My mom taught me. My mother married an asari after I was born. Neeota was a commando. She taught me how to do a lot of things."

"Irina's human mother was an Alliance soldier," the governor supplied. "She had Irina sent to Thessia. They thought it would be safer. We're looking for the human mother, but until she can be found, she, and a lot of other war orphans, are just going to be shuttled around."

Shepard's face twisted grimly at the memory of Thessia. "Let me know if there's something I can do to help."

"Will do, Commander."

With that, Shepard called Cortez and led his team to the landing zone. Once inside the shuttle, Shepard slumped into the seat beside the pilot.

"Problems, Commander?"

"At least 99 of them, Steve. I figured out a big piece of the puzzle, but I just set Kaidan up for trouble. Can we make it to Thessia in this shuttle?"

"You mean before we starve? Normally, I'd doubt it."

"Guess that makes it at least 100 problems."

"Fortunately, your pilot likes to pack extra provisions. We can head that way and raise the _Normandy_ by comms when we get closer. What's wrong?"

"Well, I've figured out who is behind this plot against the krogan, but I haven't figured out how or why. And I may have just sent Kaidan to meet her face to face. And by may, I mean that I did."

"Didn't Kaidan go there knowing that might be who he's meeting?"

"Yes, but we didn't know for certain. And he's going to be thrown off by his old girlfriend being there."

Cortez scrunched up his lips and nodded slowly. "Yep. That sounds bad."

"Any speed you might be able to coax out of these engines?"

"What do you think I was working on down in the shuttle bay all those months?"

"Attaboy, Steve."


End file.
